Rites of passage...
helping people make
the best of being older
Photo: Garry Knight C/O Flickr
Rights of passage
How can we encourage people to recognise that
becoming older is as much a rite of passage as
becoming an adult?
What can organisations offering products
and services to older people do to encourage
a change of attitude and approach?
While becoming old is something most of us expect
to do, growing older is still a mystifying experience,
as much a rite of passage as any we face in youth.
In many ways, it’s more difficult to grow into
older age than become an adult. Having less to
look forward to can lead to leaving it till too late.
And there is so little guidance from organisations
offering products and services to you.
In our communications, we need to strike a
balance between ‘forever young’ and ‘becoming
older’. Imagine what we could achieve if we
communicated our products and services in ways
that influenced, persuaded and encouraged people
to plan for their later life stages well in advance of
need? To accept that becoming older is something
they are growing into now, today. Something they
can make more of, as they grow older.
This isn’t about ‘living longer’, or ‘when I get old’,
but about ‘as I grow old’ and ‘growing older now’.
For many people, ‘getting old’ is a distant point in
their life which will announce itself all in good time,
almost like a line they will cross. The media tells
them they are living longer, but there is little focus
on the gradual move we all make from youth to
middle age and older age. It’s difficult to believe
that, in the 21st century, becoming old is still
effectively a social taboo, best not talked about
or dealt with.
Taking a positive approach
in a stoical age, Jilly Forster
is an active promoter of
the view that age beliefs
can influence the ageing
process and individuals can
influence their age beliefs.
Here, she points to five
effective ways for engaging
and communicating with
people as they grow into the
stages of later life.
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Revealing
reality
Forster Insight
It is possible to depict older people as
diverse and dynamic in ways that are
real and unsentimental
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Much of the media focus on the lives of older
people provides a picture of neediness and
vulnerability, of people being passive, victims,
‘done to’. It is the task of communications
activities aimed at or for older people to show
that there are more positive ways to depict and
describe the lives of people in later life, even
where the focus is problem or issue-based.
When it comes to communications with older people, blanket targeting is not
acceptable. It’s never a good idea to address the target audience solely in chronological
terms or depict older people as only vulnerable and needy. There are huge points of
difference between successive generations and individuals within them.
Forster has the experience and expertise to help organisations find and use authentic
representations of older people – not ‘victims and heroes’, but real people who just
happen to be older, enjoying and experiencing all that life has to offer them.
Positive responses
For the benefit of positive change, the reality
that is worth revealing centres on some
common principles of ageing well: staying
active, mentally and physically; consuming a
balanced diet while growing older; maintaining
an active social life; thinking positively and
managing stress; avoiding risk by using the
health services.
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If we, as organisations and companies seeking
to send positive messages to older people, can
help older individuals realise that they can take
more control over their lives, they will engage
in practices that enhance the lives they lead.
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Grandparents Plus (www.grandparentsplus.org.uk)
is a national charity that promotes the vital role of
grandparents and the extended family in children’s
lives, particularly where parents are no longer able
to care for their children. Forster worked with
them to develop a new identity, to carve out a
distinctive position for the organisation, with an up-to-date and relevant look and feel.
While there is much focus on older people having
to learn new skills, there are some dynamic
examples of older people passing on their skills to
younger people. The Amazings provides incredible
activities run by retired people who share the
skills, knowledge and passion they’ve picked up
throughout their lives (www.theamazings.org).
2012 is the European Year for Active Ageing
and solidarity between generations. New social enterprise United For All Ages (www.unitedforallages.com) is working with football clubs and the 2012 Olympics to focus on
the role of sport in creating a Britain for all ages.
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Getting
closer
Forster Insight
It’s best to make the effort to get
closer to older customers, by talking
to them, mixing with them, recognising
their diversity
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If we see later lifestages as purely traditional
and technophobic, we are missing a huge point
when it comes to the power of communications.
Media habits are changing. Online, satellite,
Freeview, digital radio – all are transforming
media consumption among older people.
45% of 55-75 year olds spend up to 30 hours
per week online and 25% are considered ‘heavy
users’ (30+ hours a week). 47% use either Skype
or instant messenger services to communicate,
and a quarter stream films/TV at least 2-3 times
a month. A third of over-55s use the internet to
access social networks, with the over 50s being
Facebook’s fastest growing audience.
If we assume that older people are set in their
brand choices, market research belies this.
Older households have been shown to buy as
wide a variety of brands as younger ones.
Here is the challenge: even organisations and companies currently offering products
and services to older people must work harder to get beyond the stereotypes that
exist for older people.
Forster is helping a diverse range of clients use effective communications to
encourage older people to maintain good health, be free from depression, stay
optimistic, engage in social activity and live in a welcoming neighbourhood.
Positive responses
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Southwark Circle (www.southwarkcircle.org.uk) is a
membership organisation that provides on-demand
help with life’s practical tasks and a social network
for teaching, learning and sharing. Open to all,
regardless of levels of income, Circles is a model of
how future social care services might look.
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Carers Trust is the new national charity providing help,
advice and voice for the UK’s 6 million carers. Forster
worked with the recently merged Princess Royal Trust
for Carers and Crossroads Care to develop a new
brand and help articulate a strong vision, mission, face
and voice for all carers. www.carers.org
Gransnet, the social networking site, aims to
connect and give voice to Britain’s 14 million
grandparents. Forums cover everything from
politics to sex, pension planning to technology.
www.gransnet.com
The Good Gym pairs joggers with isolated elderly
people, asking the runners to pop in for a chat
during their daily exercise. Magic Me specialises
in running intergenerational creative projects
for mutual benefit, learning and enjoyment. Pen
Friends seeks to link people who are interested in
developing their creative writing skills with elderly
housebound people who have great stories to tell
but are not able to attend a formal group.
Help the Hospices wanted to create a campaign
that would bring together all the hospices in
the movement to reach out within their local
communities and talk about their work. Death isn’t
an easy subject. Hospices are surprising places
– positive, high energy and vibrant. We helped
package the messaging, develop the creative work
and deliver a range of collateral which enabled
local hospices to take ownership of the campaign.
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The big picture
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25
the fastest growing
user age group
on facebook
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13
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24
1
50+
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12
2
22
21
2
1
9
30
7
0
4
16
28
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3
27
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2
18
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19
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7
of 55-75 year olds
connect to their
friends with either
Skype or instant
messenger services
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10
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47%
45% 33%
of 55-75 year olds
spend up to 30
hours on the
internet a week
of over 55’s use
social networks
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Identifying
needs and
aspirations
Forster Insight
It’s essential to discover how older people
relate to your organisation and how you
can help them get more from older age
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How do older people behave and when? What do
they really think? How can you know any of this
and how can your organisation relate appropriately
until you know who older people are?
Older people? What age are we talking about?
Over 50s? 65+? 75 and older? Are they working?
Can they? Do they want to? Need to? What about
health? And what about wealth and poverty?
At Forster, we believe there is no absolute definition of older age. But we know a lot
about people growing older. People are experiencing the symptoms, attitudes and
events of later life stages from their 40s and through their 50s, while still capable of
regarding themselves as ‘young 60s’.
Using our clear audience segmentation approach, we can help you embrace the sheer
diversity of people as they grow older, while recognising that there are mind-sets to
understand and tap into as people make their transition at their own pace.
Positive responses
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Aged 65 is not considered ‘old’ today, yet people
of this age can remember the end of food
rationing in Britain or when Marilyn Monroe
married baseball star Joe DiMaggio. Even 55
year-olds can recall The Beatles conquering
America and Winston Churchill’s funeral.
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Audience Segmentation. At Forster, we’ve reviewed
different segmentation models, including: DEFRA,
Age Concern/OLIVE, DH alcohol, Change4Life
and Healthy Foundations. We’ve used our insights
gained from both using these models and our
experience of working with a range of clients on
age-related issues. We’ve tested, shared and ’sense
checked’ our approach in our older people panel
and stakeholders seminars. Finally, we refined and
quantified our audience segments using Mosaic
and ONS data.
When the Payments Council (www.
paymentscouncil.org.uk) asked Forster to provide
reassurance around proposed changes to cheques
and raise awareness of alternative methods of
payment among older audiences, we were able
to bring our audience segmentation approach to
bear - testing, developing and consulting the target
audiences. We discovered that a typical response
from Deniers was ‘I don’t even know where my
cheque book is’. Whereas, at the other end of the
scale, the more independently-minded Separators
would say ‘Things change and you get left behind,
it’s a fact of life.’ As a result, we were able to sculpt
messages and communication channels to reach
these very different older audiences.
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Forster is a partner and member of Age
Action Alliance (http://ageactionalliance.org/), a
partnership of organisations from civil society and
the public and private sectors, which celebrates
the lives of older people and their contribution
to society. The Alliance works by engaging older
people to find out what is important to them, then
acting on it.
Titan Holidays (www.titantravel.co.uk) understand
their audience inside-out … they pick you up, drop
your off, carry your bags …
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Being
clear
Forster Insight
It makes sense to speak clearly, plainly
and truthfully and reduce older people’s
barriers to understanding and participation
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It is often assumed that older people need
specific products or communications streams
created for them. Often, they want to see
their needs catered for in the mainstream
– but they do respond to quality, ethics and
impartial information.
The worst thing we can do with communications
aimed at older people is to stoop to
manipulation and hype. Older people usually
have a powerful nose for this. They are much
more likely to value solid worth and practical
information – authenticity, not artificiality.
There is no getting around the fact that, as diverse as older people undoubtedly are,
the older they get the more they require that we speak clearly, plainly and truthfully
to them. We need to recognise their greater amount of life experience combining
with deteriorating senses and capabilities.
As a result, Forster believes in helping clients make ‘engaging communications’
the default approach to communicating products, services and messages aimed
specifically at audiences aged 50+ and generally at audiences that include older
people: Engage for INDIVIDUALITY; Engage for EQUALITY; Engage for PARTICIPATION.
Positive responses
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Sometimes, products and services aimed
at older people need to be communicated
effectively and successively to younger people,
so that people in later life can get the benefit
from them.
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Keep Warm, Keep Well is a national governmental
campaign aiming to protect those who are
vulnerable in the winter months – older people,
families on low incomes and people with long term
health conditions. Forster works with partners in
the community – local businesses, health services
and community groups - to spread the word
about the campaign, which promotes measures to
keep homes warm, save money and energy, and
encourage take-up of grants and benefits. Last
winter the campaign worked with 64 partnerships,
from businesses like The Co-op and Morrisons to
housing associations and Citizen’s Advice Bureaus,
resulting in the distribution of over a million leaflets
across England.
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Forster supports Age UK as members of their
Engage Business Network, representing a wide
range of consumer-facing business sectors in the
UK and beyond. Members can access services
designed to give them a better understanding
of the needs of older consumers. Engage is
launching its own accreditation scheme, enabling
organisations to have their products and services
formally endorsed as those that have the interests
of people in later life as an integral part of their
business thinking.
Forster has worked closely with Abel & Cole, the
organic food home delivery company, to help it
extend its product/service offering to help meet
needs for people in later life. Abel & Cole has always
been concerned with quality of life and sustainability
and saw no reason why it couldn’t adapt its existing
home delivery service for the needs of older people.
This was never about creating a new service, but
about listening to what older people really wanted
from the existing service and acting upon what
the company learned. Forster’s communications
task was to define the target audience and develop
contact strategy.
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It really works when the power of
narrative, story and humour represent
older people in ways they appreciate
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Why are organisations wary, uncertain or even
fearful of communicating directly with older
audiences? Do older people suddenly acquire
an aversion to the power of narrative, story
and humour when they pass 50?
Why take the easy way out by using a
wishywashy, bland style? Older people may
need the communication to take a slower pace –
but they value conversation and direct dialogue.
You may have pigeon-holed your older audience into a niche they cannot escape.
You may see so much diversity that you cannot even picture the older audiences
you want to target. Either way, you may be missing a great opportunity to engage
your older audiences directly, with the humour and narrative they deserve.
Forster has always known and shown that any audience can be reached and engaged
more strongly when its motivations are understood and played back to it in a form it
can accept and relate to. When it comes to storytelling, Forster works with our clients
to prove that older people are no different to other people.
Positive responses
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Yes, minding your language, finding the right
image and managing your digital approach all
matter when engaging with older audiences.
But, in case we have forgotten, it is time to
remember that people over a certain age
are human, too.
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Telling
the story
Forster Insight
Just because I’m
over 60 nobody
wants to sell me
anything any more
Germaine Greer
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Spread the Warmth is our annual campaign for
Age UK, developed to help 350,000 people in later
life feel warm, healthy and in touch with others
during winter. We developed a storytelling platform
that would work across several communication
channels, bringing together new and existing
winter services and activities including retail,
fundraising, campaigning, information & advice.
Activity included: fundraising partnerships with
corporate supporters; a fuel poverty campaign,
including a pledge to write to your MP calling for an
emergency winter plan; an Information & Advice
guide; a stock donation campaign, Donate a Coat;
a Christmas DM appeal; a dedicated online hub
area; national press inserts, regional radio ads and
a promotional partnership with the Daily Mirror; a
mass participation fundraising event (Bobble Day).
The storytelling nature of the campaign enabled it
to achieve extensive editorial coverage and in it’s
first year over £853,000 was raised.
OXO Good Grips is dedicated to providing
innovative consumer products that make everyday
living easier. Their transgenerational products all
follow Universal Design principles resulting in a
salad spinner can be used with one hand, liquid
measuring cups that can be read from above
without bending over, kettles with whistle lids that
open automatically when tipped to pour and tools
with pressure-absorbing, non-slip handles that
make them more efficient.
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Bovis Homes was finding its Retirement Living
product a difficult proposition to sell. The target
audience of 55+ are too young to think about
planning for a retirement property. They needed
to position retirement products in a more positive
light in relation to the market place. Forster carried
out consultation to inform a communications
strategy that outlined short and long-term goals
for Bovis. Short term goals included a fresh look
and feel for the brand, to boost immediate sales
for existing development, and recruitment for
new projects. Longer term, we outlined ways in
which Retirement Living as an ethos could be
communicated, spurring a mind shift in younger
people preparing more readily for retirement.
Get the online literacy rate up. No one should
be without a computer and basic email, Google,
current affairs and online shopping skills. Government services could save £900m annually,
if the 8.4 million of us currently digitally excluded
were to move just one government contact a
month online. Forster are official partners with
raceonlline2012. 13-14
Forster is a campaigning
communications company, working
with clients to set new agendas,
influence attitudes and change
behaviour. We understand the
ingredients for audience engagement
and specialise in research and
insight, brand communications,
digital and PR.
Forster has a strong reputation for
creating and delivering common
sense communications which meet
the diverse needs and aspirations of
older people. We help clients who
want to provide practical, relevant
and affordable products and services
to people over 50 and in later life.
If you’d like to discuss
how we can inspire
positive change together,
please contact:
Jo Foy
joanna@forster.co.uk
Forster
49 Southwark Street
London SE1 1RU
T 020 7403 2230
www.forster.co.uk
© Forster March 2012